Boyfriend
by moeichi
Summary: Nessie tries to ask her family what the word 'boyfriend' means. Keyword: tries.


I hate not knowing something. It made me feel left out, annoyed, and as though I was a century behind present times - which could technically be true, considering that I'm from a family of vampires.

But even people from one century ago would know the meaning of the term _boyfriend_, which, somehow, is one word that my daddy failed to explain to me before sending me off to school. This was all his fault.

I growled under my breath in frustration, listening to my friends chattering away about their boyfriends and the wonderful things that they did for them while I sat there, not knowing how to join the conversation and probably looking extremely stupid.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Vanessa?" one of them asked me suddenly, and I jumped. I had been too busy feeling annoyed at my daddy to listen to what they were saying.

"Surely someone as pretty as you would have one!" another girl piped up enthusiastically.

I squirmed uncomfortably, wondering how I should reply. What on earth w_as _a boyfriend anyway? A friend that's a boy? I did have boy friends. Plenty of them, in fact. There was my best friend Jacob, and the rest of his pack - Seth, Quil, Embry.

Maybe that's what they meant.

"Um, yes, I do," I choked out finally. "Plenty."

They gave me a strange look, making me feel as though my answer had been unsatisfactory, and decided not to talk to me for the rest of lunch.

I definitely must have said something wrong.

* * *

I opened the door to the Cullens' mansion that afternoon, angry thoughts still whirling in my head. I was going to ask Dad to explain to me what a boyfriend was whether he wanted to or not.

"No, Nessie."

I looked up, realizing that Dad was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. I groaned inwardly. He must have heard my thoughts.

"But Dad," I pleaded.

His eyes were hard as he responded dryly, "No, Nessie. You're still to young. Even though you look sixteen now, you're still a seven year old, and seven year olds do not know what boyfriends are."

I gave him my best death glare, flinging my hands up in anger. "Fine! I'll just have to ask someone else!" I snapped, then turned and stormed upstairs before he could ask me how my day at school was.

Along the way, I bumped into Uncle Emmett, who had just been about to jump outside through the second story window. "Uncle Emmett!" I greeted as nicely as I could. If Dad wouldn't tell me, maybe Uncle Emmett could. "Where are you off to?"

He grinned at me. "Hunting. Did you just get back from school?"

That was obvious, but I knew he was only making polite conversation. I nodded. "Yes, I did. In fact, there's something I would like to ask you before you go." I took a deep breath. "W-What's a boyfriend?"

Uncle Emmett raised an eyebrow at me. "I didn't know they taught _that _sort of stuff in English now," he commented.

I didn't understand what he was saying until it suddenly hit me. He must have thought I was defining the term for school! "No, no," I corrected quickly, "I mean, I was just wondering. Some girls at school were talking about boyfriends, but Daddy refused to tell me what they are."

He laughed nervously. "I...don't think I'm the best person to be explaining things to you. Oh! Is that a bear I smell?" He continued loudly, then gave me a wave before disappearing out the window.

"Running away, huh?" I grumbled, feeling more annoyed than ever as I made my way to my own bedroom. I was still so angry that I didn't notice where I was going until I crashed right into Uncle Jasper. Almost at once, a calming feeling settled over me.

"Careful, Nessie," he said in a particularly soothing voice, "Wouldn't want to get yourself hurt."

"S-Sorry," I mumbled, then brightened again. "Oh! Uncle Jasper, do you know what a boyfriend is?"

Uncle Jasper looked thoughtful for a few moments. "A boy friend is...someone who makes you feel like you are the happiest person in the world," he murmured. The calm was replaced with a feeling of happiness and something else I couldn't describe, but for some reason, I had a feeling that I have felt this way before.

Huh.

Then the feeling was gone, and Uncle Jasper was walking towards the stairs again, waving as he passed.

Typical Uncle Jasper, explaining it in his terms. That just made me even more confused. Just what the heck _is _a boyfriend, anyway?

"Did you need something, Nessie?" Aunt Alice's singing voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to find her twirling toward me. "I've got a new dress that I want you to try on now that you've grown again!"

I made a face. "Not this again, Aunt Alice!"

The look she gave me told me that there were no exceptions. Obediently, I trailed after her into the dressing room. _Well, at least I'll get a chance to ask her what a boyfriend is_, I told myself in an attempt to make me feel better. I repeated my question to her, and she barely glanced up as she dressed me.

"All I can say is that you will definitely have a boyfriend in the future, Nessie," she sang, giving me a mysterious wink.

What was with all these answers?!

I didn't even bother checking myself in the mirror on my way out, not really caring about my new dress in my attempt to find an answer to my question.

Aunt Rosalie was no help either - all she told me was "Don't worry about it, Nessie, you don't need one." - and Mom had answered in a dreamy voice, a sign that she was now in a faraway world of memories, "The only boyfriend I had was your father, Nessie."

"Ugh!" I shrieked, attempting to punch the wall of my bedroom to let out my frustration, only to find that my fist had struck a human hand instead. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the hand didn't belong to a human, but a werewolf. "J-Jake!" I yelped in surprise, smiling when I saw him sitting on my bed.

"Someone's been having anger issues, have we?" He chuckled, giving me a hug as his way of greeting. This made me feel extremely happy, like the way Uncle Jasper had described.

I hid my face in his chest. "No, I haven't," I mumbled. "It's just - I've been trying to find out what a boyfriend is, but none of my family would tell me just what the stupid word means!"

Jacob roared in laughter, falling back onto my bed. I immediately felt emptier now that his arms were no longer around me, and I struggled to figure out why.

"My friends asked me if I had one, and I told them I have plenty. But that was clearly not the answer they wanted, as they avoided me for the rest of the day!" I rambled on, not even noticing that Jake had suddenly fallen off my bed. "Wouldn't that make me suspicious? If my Dad wants me to blend in with humans, I should know what boyfriends are!"

"N-Nessie," he choked, still shaking with laughter. I wanted to hit him. "What do you think the word boyfriend means?"

"A friend that's a boy, right?" I asked carefully.

He shook his head, trying hard not to laugh but failing miserably. "No, no, of course that's not what a boyfriend is. No wonder your friends left you. And no wonder your father refuses to explain it to you," he went on, snickering again.

I could only stare at him, mystified, wondering why on earth 'boyfriend' was such an important term.

Jake hesitated. "It's rather hard to explain, you know, but what it really means is...someone of the opposite gender who is special to you. Someone you would want to have by your side for the rest of your life. Someone you love more than anyone else in the universe."

My eyes brightened. So I do have a boyfriend after all! "Then I do have a boyfriend!" I said excitedly. At his questioning - and was that disappointment? - look, I elaborated, "You're my boyfriend, right, Jake? I want you to always stay with me, forever. And I love you. You know I do."

He looked surprised but rather touched at my words, sitting up so he could hug me again. My heart suddenly seemed to speed up, though I had no idea why. "Oh, Nessie," he breathed, placing a kiss on the top my head. "I promise I'll be your boyfriend...But only in the future, when your family decides that you're old enough."

There were two things I was certain of at that moment.

One, I couldn't wait till I was older.

And two, I was going to murder my family.

* * *

**A/n: leave a review and let me know what you think? ;) **


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